It's growing in my garden but wasn't planted by me. Anything I plant, I check my state's list of invasives prior to shopping, buying or planting. My garden is slightly colder than yours but altho' it does self-seed, it hasn't been what I'd call aggressive like floribunda rose. It hasn't taken over any of my perennial beds.

Check the link below for more information about Euonymus alatus. Scroll down the page to another link that identifies where it's invasive in the U.S.

I assume it spreads by self-seeding since it hasn't taken over my garden. It may not like my slightly acidic sandy loam.

Sorry, when I even hear a whisper that something is invasive, an alarm starts buzzing and I don't even go there. It's not just my garden that's threatened; it's nearby gardens, wetlands, woodlands, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: Missouri Botanical Garden

Just get rid of it. It is on your state's list of invasive species and according to the Bangor Daily New, rather aggressive in the Booth Bay area, There are other shrubs that can offer that bright red fall color without the suckering and seeding (bird dispersed, which is why not so noticeable in the garden) and less of the one season wonder factor.

Check the link for alternative plantings.

Here is a link that might be useful: BDN - get rid of the burning bush

The fact that a shrub grows too large for its surroundings does not make it invasive in the accepted meaning of the term.

That said, a burning bush seedling turned up in my front border this year. And there are none elsewhere on my property or from what I can see of the neighbor's yards. Looks like a random seed from far away, contributed by a bird pooping on my border.

I'm not sure anyone was alluding to its size as being invasive but rather to the fact that the shrub has naturalized widely, invaded natural habitats and is listed as problematic (even with prohibited sales in some states) throughout New England and into the midwest. That's invasive!

first .... potting it will help nothing ...

second.. you could cut it to the ground.. and it will probably be half as big by next fall ...

finally .... get rid of it.. because its a piece of carp plant ... you can do so much better ..IMHO

i swear i dreamed about this... or you posted it a while back.. and i typed the same thing ...

i dont know how gal intuited your location .. unless booth bay is famous ...

and i dont know what eric read into the facts .... to say what he said ...

its all so confusing .... lol

ken

Always funny to see what others have issues with that are no problem at all for other folks.

The BB at my folks' place is an atrociously slow grower -- always has been. My mom was ready to kill my dad when he took it upon himself to "prune it back". He cut it back to a third its size and now -- 8yrs or so later -- it hasn't gotten much bigger. (Though in his defense, that warm winter we had a few years ago resulted in a lot of die back.)

I guess each zone has its own problem plants. I have a burning bush on the east side of my home, its 37 years old. Invasive here? Hardly. It gets big, I cut it back 2/3 every so often and it gets full and lush again. I have had a few suckers on it, I just cut them back at the ground. Remove it from my yard? Never!

Sherry

"I'm not sure anyone was alluding to its size as being invasive"

Except the poster who started the thread. Try reading the opening post again.

I think we can agree that certain plants should not be grown in certain nonnative locations if they're going to seed themselves widely and make pests of themselves. At the same time, it'd be a good idea to use words accurately and not confuse matters.

I have a large rugosa rose shrub that is locally invasive (it suckers like mad and sends up shoots several feet away from the mother plant). but R. rugosa, while not native to this region is not considered an invasive threat to wild areas, unlike disasters such as the multiflora rose which has a mission to reseed itself all over the place and covers large distances with the help of birds that eat the hips.

I had a Burning Bush and rarely pruned it so it did set fruit every year. Many fruit that dropped beneath it germinated. I was always pulling seedlings out in close proximity to it.

A shrub like this can be problematic and you might not be aware of it, because it's surrounded by grass which you mow all the time, or you prune it every year or two and it doesn't set fruit or you mulch heavily. But if your Burning Bush does set fruit, birds eat the fruit, and they can fly quite a distance away, they gravitate toward woods and wood edges, they drop the seed wherever they go and easy to see how a whole colony of Burning Bush can spring up somewhere away from your property and you wouldn't know it.

The problem is it can grow so vigorously that it will out grow everything else in certain areas. The problem with this is it destroys biodiversity. That is the bottom line. Biodiversity is very important, so if you want to understand the full impact of any plant that becomes invasive, read up on Biodiversity and why it is important.

Here is a link that might be useful: Why Is Biodiversity Important? Who Cares?

And here is one more photo of Burning Bush that has escaped cultivation in Vermont...

It's lovely...but it's very sad. I eliminated the BBs around the house I bought 15 years ago immediately, knowing that they are a threat to the environment.
I agree with Ken, it's crap, and there are so many other plants that have a much longer interest period and just as great a fall color (which is the single reason for this plant to be grown).

I'd suggest oakleaf hydrangea, american smoke tree, vernal witch hazel, many native viburnums, huckleberries, and lots of other things that I can't think of at 6 am, to replace it. Of course a good replacement would have to take into account the climate and siting requirements.

I now have Aronia and Highbushblueberry that the foliage color on both are just gorgeous, and the Aronia provides berries for birds and Highbush Blueberries are for us. Prettiest colors in my garden. I also have had Oakleaf Hydrangeas for years that are a gorgeous mahogany color with highlights of brighter red. Really nice.

This post was edited by prairiemoon2 on Sat, Nov 8, 14 at 8:18

I see similar scenes to those PM2 posted in our rural area and on my commute. For shrubs with fall color I have planted high bush blueberry, Enkianthus, Fothergilla, Viburnums, and witch hazel. All of these have more than one season of interest, unlike the burning bush. The first two of these photos are of plants in more than half shade, and they would be brighter if the plants were in more sun.
Viburnum
{{gwi:282638}}From early November 2014

Enkianthus Some varieties have been selected for more red, but mine is unnamed.
{{gwi:282640}}From early November 2014

Fothergilla
{{gwi:248950}}From 2013

So, to answer the original poster's question...there really is no great reason to save this bush. Pull it out and plant something else.

Be forewarned, though, my experience was that the roots were hard to grub out and they kept resprouting for a few years (unless you take drastic (IE chemical) measures to kill them).

I have seen no evidence of the burning bush invasive habit anywhere around where i am at. There are rural and wooded areas around here with nothing that looks like the pictures posted here. I guess the conditions here arent condusive to this plant being invasive. I see them growing in yards in the suburbs.

Sherry

Like real estate, invasive potential is all about location. What may be considered invasive in one area may very well not be in another. But going by zones is not the way to determine, nor is actually physically viewing the plant in the wild. Each state maintains a data base of invasive species and the US Forest service and various regional councils do as well. Before anyone jumps to a conclusion that a plant is or isn't invasive, check with your local authority first.

Burning bush is becoming increasingly invasive, spreading across a much wider range than when initial counts were made. It is now listed as invasive in MI,OH, WI, MN, IN, Il, MO and KS in addition to the midAtlantic and New England states. It is also encroaching southward, in NC, SC and Georgia, northern FL and along the Gulf Coast.. It has also been seen in eastern Montana.